Archived News

The Weekly Wrap

Amongst the flurry of recent letting success
within the City of London, we are delighted to report two successful deals at
30 Minories, EC3 on behalf of our client DTZ Investment Management.

Operations management EXL Service secured c.
6,000 sq.ft on the first floor west unit,
whilst Success Resources, one of the leading
global providers of educational resources, seminars and workshops have leased
c. 3,500 sq.ft over the second floor east unit.
There are now only three
office spaces remaining totalling c. 12,500
sq.ft.

The Landlord will also shortly
embark on a comprehensive refurbishment which will include an upgraded ground floor entrance hall as well as brand new showers and bike
storage facilities.

We are also excited
that the renowned and ‘infamous’ Randys Wing Bar has opened up a retail unit at 30
Minories which further bolsters the amenities for incoming tenants.

London still rules the roost

According to a recent article within CityAM,
a large majority of worldwide investors are of the opinion that London still
hosts the best talent pool for financial services in Europe. The City of
London Corporation carried out a survey with global institutional investors and
c. 90 of 101 other companies said that London talent rules the roost.

Furthermore a survey of over 2,000 corporates within Europe concluded that London was
the best City for business, certainly outperforming rivals such as Paris and
Frankfurt.

The report comes up against a backdrop of
feverish competition between European countries attempting to attract the best
talent pool for financial businesses. It was suggested that French
President, Emmanuel Macron in particular
is trying his best to push Paris to the forefront.

In this sense the recent
surveys are extremely encouraging especially in light of the ongoing Brexit
negotiations. Indeed,
we have been buoyed by the recent financial office transactions within the City
of London, for example Deutsche Bank’s commitment at 21 Moorfield Street and SMBCE’s recent pre-let OF
160,00 sq ft at 100 Liverpool Street.

The number of bikes in the City of London flourishes

The Traffic in the City
2018 report from the City of London has confirmed that bikes are the method
of choice for the City’s rush hour commuters. There are now more bicycles on
the streets of the Square Mile at peak times in the morning than there are
cars, taxis, motorbikes, heavy goods vehicles and public service vehicles. The
impact of 2016’s cycle superhighways, alongside increased rail travel fares and
traffic space re-allocations on City streets are the main reasons for this.

However, the cycle use growth
rate has begun to plateau, therefore, more needs to be done. The City of London
has been mulling over the full pedestrianisation of Bank Station junction
during working hours since the scheme was trialled in June 2017 (area can be
seen in the below diagram). Other than the safety improvement, the ban improved
air quality and traffic congestion, albeit, any permanent closure wouldn’t come
into effect until 2020 at the earliest.

Area of
pedestrianisation being considered

Commercial
property owners within the London office market are extremely aware of the
cycling revolution. Indeed the majority of Newton Perkins’ instructions provide
cycle rack spaces alongside showers and lockers. In conclusion, please search
the listed properties on our website to see how we are encouraging even more
people to get on the saddle.

In addition to
the large number of small deals (sub 2,000 sq ft) at the start of the year, we
have now also facilitated the following:

10 New Street –
Two floors Under Offer (to separate tenants)

63 Mark Lane –
Under Offer

150 Fenchurch
Street – A further floor Let

2a Eastcheap –
Let

65 Leadenhall
Street – A further floor Under Offer

48 Gracechurch
Street – Under Offer

These results
show NP’s commitment to each and every instruction we take on, no matter what size.
Needless to say we are equally active (and effective!) at the upper end of the
market, having just exchanged on a 40,000 sq ft letting and with 11,000 sq ft at Plantation Place South being placed
under offer this week – but those are stories for another day.

We very much
look forward to continuing our outperformance of the market in the City Core.